Carnival Camp, Canine Calamities and Chickungunya

 I'm not even sure where to begin this post. After I published my last post I thought, "Well, there's nothing exciting coming up so it will probably be awhile till I write something again." (Actually, I think that every time I publish another one.) As usual, I was wrong.

  I guess I'll start at the beginning, which is Carnival Camp. I mentioned the Carnival holidays in a previous post. Hundreds of tourists and people from other islands come for the festivities, which includes lots of partying, drinking, nakedness, dirty dancing in the streets, calypso and other musical competitions, parades and much more. It is time when just about ANYTHING goes, things you would get arrested for if you did it any other time of the year. There are people who smear themselves up with motor oil and try to stop your vehicle if you are out driving and demand money. We try to stay close to home during these holidays, which begin Sunday and go till Tuesday. In an effort to keep our youth away from the party atmosphere, our church hosts what we call Carnival Camp. The men and boys leave Sunday afternoon to go camping. They usually come back Tuesday evening. The girls came to our house for Sunday evening and Monday. The older ladies came just for Sunday evening. We had a wonderful time hanging out and getting to know each other better.

  Night time was somewhat of a challenge, with a certain girl deciding she's not going to sleep, even if everyone else is trying to! After awhile the rest of the bunch got tired of her antics and locked themselves in another room so they could try to get some sleep. That brought this certain someone to my door in tears. I found it hard to drum up any pity and told her she needs to deal with the consequences of her actions...which is, sleeping by herself. That lead up to her knocking on  my door numerous times at about 15 minute intervals, coincidentally each time when I had just dozed off. After I told her she is not allowed to knock on my door one more time, she dissolved in a puddle of snot and tears outside my door. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night. Added to that, was a major thunder storm which is a rare occasion down here. It lasted almost all night. I lay in bed alternating between gratefulness to God for showing His power to the many nightly party goers and pitying the menfolk camping and trying to stay dry. 

 The next day Ginger and I tried to keep the girls entertained with our "lack-of-sleep induced" foggy brains. We did have a good day.

                          Hanging out Sunday evening with the ladies and girls from church

                                                  We made pizza for supper Sunday evening

                            Keeping the crew entertained the next day. We baked cookies,
                             painted T-shirts, played gamed and did some craft projects

                                                      Decorating cut out cookies

                         Some of the strange characters that walked past our house on Monday...
                         (thankful for my zoom lens:)

             This guy was pulling an empty kettle...I guess he liked the clinkety-clankety noise:)

 Now for the men...They had a good time hiking, playing games and hanging out with the boys...until...

 Monday afternoon, some people showed up at the area where they were camping and proceeded to set up light towers, a tent and mobile bar. They assured our men that the party wouldn't start till the next afternoon. Unfortunately, that was not quite accurate and the next morning the people started rolling in along with a truck pulling a trailer with huge speakers on. They quickly started taking down the tents and packing up. The music was pounding so loudly it vibrated their insides and they had to shout to each other to be heard. After they finally had their stuff packed up, they hopped in the truck to leave....which, unfortunately, had a dead battery and didn't start. They borrowed a battery charger from the party goers and finally got it started and were on their way. 

Some pics of their camp site...

                                                            Hanging out with the boys

                                                                   Their camp site

                                                                    Playing games

            They attached a tarp between this old building and the truck for a make shift camp site

And then the ride home...something I wish with all my heart I could erase from my young boys minds. 

 Unfortunately, (I know I'm using this word alot but it just fits) they had to drive through numerous areas where there were Carnival parties on the streets. Masses of painted, oily people thronging around the truck, climbing on the truck, brushing their oily bodies against the boys on the back of the truck, beer flowing, music pounding, men and ladies grinding against each other, ladies with everything "hanging out,"....everything we were trying to shield them from, now being thrust right before their eyes. They had no option but to keep going. Chris could hardly drive because of the masses on the streets. He would go a few inches, then stop, then go a few more inches. He came home exhausted hoping to recuperate in his quiet house. Unfortunately, (this will be the last time I use this word:) our neighbors were having a party and blasting music from 8' high speakers. I was so glad when these days were over!

            Some pictures from the online Grenadian news...I edited out  the worst parts...this is what     the men and boys had to drive through. I pray those images will be erased from their minds

                                Pounding drums, oily bodies and horned hats...the evil spirit could be felt

      Partying hard with anything they could find. The one man had a toilet seat ring around his head as he danced. They danced with wheelchairs, shopping carts and other odd things. 

     And now on to the next happening...

 And just when we finally had the children taught that tossing chicken bones under the table to the dog is not considered acceptable table manners, our precious pooch gets killed on the road. Christi came crying into our bedroom one morning," Mom! Come look! Dusty got hit on the road!" I thought, "Oh no! Not another dog!" We'll miss you, Dusty!

Maybe we should start our own animal graveyard...

And then the morning I was supposed to be at the hospital doing this to other patients, I ended up there with my daughter taking her vital signs. She woke up with a rash, fever and extreme joint pain. Her blood pressure was very low and after seeing the doctor and a blood test, he diagnosed her with either dengue fever or chickungunya. There's not a whole lot you can do about either one except let it run its course. He gave codeine for pain.

Chris wasn't home that day and it didn't seem very practical to pay bus fare for the whole family to go half a mile so I thought we'd just walk to the hospital. Kaylah dreaded the thought and thankfully Pastor John stopped by just as we were ready to head out, so we hitched a ride with him. Then at the hospital she was in tears just dreading the walk home. God came through again and Jenny "happened" to stop in just as we were ready to leave and drove us home. Jenny is the lady that I took care of her husband. He recently died so you can pray for her if you think about it.

A very miserable girl. Her fever was 104.5* and I believe she was somewhat delirious. She would look at me blankly when I would ask her a question. I felt so bad for her! Real feel temp was 106* outside, but she was so cold, shaking and shivering. I was sure she'd end up in the hospital because she was throwing everything right back up again, even water. Thankfully till the next day she was keeping her fluids down. She developed a rash over her face, trunk, hands and feet. After a few days her skin became very itchy and peeled off.

And then, one by one, we became inflicted. Chris came home from hauling furniture the next day and was hobbling around. He was taking pain killers all day for an extremely painful foot and ankle. He said he must have somehow broken it, but he has no idea when it happened. He also thought he sprained his wrist from moving furniture. The mystery was solved during the night when he woke up with a fever and nasty dry heaving. He felt so miserable and every bone ached in his body. His symptoms were more characteristic of chickungunya. He was flat in bed for a few days but thankfully last night his fever broke. He still has a low grade temp but he wanted something to eat this morning so that was an improvement. Unfortunately, he could hardly hold a fork due to the stiffness in his fingers. Between tucking pillows behind his back to make him more comfortable and watching him stooped over, painfully hobbling around, I felt like I'm having a sneak preview into when we'll be an old Gramps & Granny.

                        You can kinda see his rash on this pic. Some of it was fine, kinda
                       like a measles rash and some was more like white pus-filled pimples.

At this point, Sunday evening, I am awaiting my turn. Maybe I'll slip by but I don't have my hopes up. Collin started with a low grade temp, aches and head ache today, so I think he'll be the next one. Christi is miserable with a 104* temp. Chris is hobbling around, aching and bent over like an old man. Everything hurts, even his hair, he says:) The others are at the half-well, half-sick, wholly grumpy stage. Truthfully, it was easier to take care of them when they were so sick they couldn't talk above a whisper. Now they are bored and tired of laying around. They get up, but it hurts too bad to walk so they need to lay down again. I had this mean thought that if I would withhold their painkillers maybe they would just stay laying and my life would be easier.:) They are hungry for this and hungry for that, but really hungry for nothing, because even after making three different things that they're hungry for, they take a bite or two then it doesn't taste good anymore. Carter says it feels like his head is gonna blow off...kinda interesting how they describe their pain to you:)
I feel like a lady awaiting upcoming labor. I see how this disease just totally debilitates you in a matter of hours so I am trying to keep after things around here for when it's my turn. Every little ache and pain has me convinced I'm on my way down and my nesting instincts kick into high gear. I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup that sits in the fridge. I put through those last two loads of wash, put any food that won't get eaten for awhile in the freezer, awaiting better days. Yesterday I had a headache and was convinced my time was closing in on me, so I sat down and ate an entire bag of trail mix, figuring I'll probably throw it up during the night, and if I don't, it will at least sustain me for the next few days that I can't eat anything. (I thought it sounded like a perfectly good excuse anyway to give in to one of my weaknesses:)) (Umm, it stayed down and now I'm trying not to think about the fact I consumed a days worth of calories in a few minutes) I put clean sheets on the bed because I figured if I'm going to be languishing in bed for a few days I can at least start out with a good smelling bed.
  I'm surprised I made it this long without getting it....well, maybe I shouldn't be, because God heard my selfish prayer....as I lay in bed the night I realized how sick Chris was, I thought of my extremely dirty and messy house that I had planned to clean the next day. I thought of the boys hair being so long that they looked like bush monkeys and thought of how miserable it would be to have a fever with such thick hair. I had planned to give them haircuts awhile ago but it just kept getting pushed off. So my prayer went something like this..."God, I resign myself to the fact I'll probably get this dreaded disease sooner or later. Just please give me time to give my boys haircuts and to get my house cleaned first. You know how hard it would be for me to lay there in the middle of my pig-sty of a house if I was sick"....the next morning I woke up and, yeah! No fever! Before I even combed my hair, I quickly gave the boys haircuts. Just got them done in the nick of time too because Carter's fever was climbing and till I helped him shower and dress he was done for. I got my house cleaned too, although by the looks of it now you can't even tell.

                                 Our living room has turned into a make shift hospital room

 I'll admit I'm exhausted tonight. The demands of a sick family have been taxing. Watching my daughter tossing and turning and moaning in misery is no fun thing. Neither is seeing my husband perspiring profusely in the middle of the night, not from heat, but from pain. I felt so bad for them but there was only so much I could do. Try to keep after with the pain medication, keep the bucket close by, make whatever they're hungry for and work at keeping them all hydrated.
 I decided my life would be easier if I would walk around with a water tank on my back with a hose attached. That way everytime someone wants a drink I could just whip out my hose instead of going to the kitchen, getting a cup, getting the water out of the fridge, filling the cup, putting the water away and delivering the cup.
 I thought I had everyone's wants and demands taken care of this lunch when I finally sank down on my chair to a bowl of soup. I got exactly one bite in my mouth when I heard, "Miss! Miss!" coming from the front porch. I pulled my weary bones out of my chair to find 3 young boys at my doorstep. "Miss, may we have some water?" they asked.
  I thought," Oh, you poor dears! Out biking in the hot sun. Of course I'll gladly get you some ice water!"
  Ummm, I wish I would have thought that. In reality my train of thoughts went something like this..."Can't you see there are sick people laying all over the place, that I finally got my family taken care of, and was hoping to get a bite to eat myself now?"
 I know, terrible of me to have those thoughts because they had no idea. I got them some water and told them when they're done to just let the cup on the porch. Sometimes it takes them awhile till they're finished and I had that weak, shaky feeling of "needing to eat now." I sat down again and got precisely one more bite in my mouth when I heard, "Miss! Miss! Can you fill my water bottle yet?"....

  Anyway, let me end this negative post with some praise reports. The other day I send Collin & Carter to the store for something I needed. Usually, I don't let them go by themselves, but with Kaylah and Chris being sick, I decided to just let them go. It's not that far and I figured if they are together they should be fine. Unfortunately, there was an accident literally right before their eyes and they were very close to being hit. A road comes out close to the store's parking lot. I'm not sure of all the details but I think one car pulled out in front of another one. In Carter's words....it was so close I had to run so I didn't get hit. The police were there marking off the scene when I went by later and I shuddered at the thought of how close they were to being hit. So thankful God kept them safe!
 Another praise report: The one day Chris was hauling some furniture from the Laura location to Limes. A boy from Limes wanted to ride along so he sat on the back of the truck on one of the chairs. When Chris reached his destination, he realized the boy was missing, along with the chair he was sitting on. He quickly hopped in the truck and began retracing his route, stopping at different places along the way to ask if anyone saw a young boy falling off the truck. A little further back he talked to some men at a store that said, "Yes, they saw the boy fall off when Chris picked up speed to go up the hill." The boy got up again and flagged down a bus and they're not sure where he went. I guess he must not have been hurt too extremely bad if he managed to flag down a bus but it could have ended much differently if there would have been a vehicle following Chris. So we are thankful for that!
  Collin and I manged to make it to church this morning and I was so glad we did. For one thing, the four walls of my house were closing in on me and it was good to get out for a bit.
 Also, I was so encouraged by the singing..."Because He lives I can face tomorrow! Because He lives all fear is gone!" Those words became so real to me because I truly was fearing the tomorrow. Each morning I woke up I wondered who was going to be the next one down. Was it going to be me or more of the children? How long is this going to last? With every ache and pain I had myself convinced it was the start of something. The mosquitos are eating us alive and I would eye each one warily wondering if it was "one of them." But thankfully, God has it all in His control and I don't have to fear tomorrow!
We also had an excellent message on God's grace and how He will give you exactly what you need to get through each moment. I can truly say I felt that this week, thanks to the many prayers on our behalf. Though there were times of feeling overwhelmed and helpless, I could feel a strength that wasn't my own. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." ..therefore I will take pleasure in infirmities, in distresses, in dengue fever, in chickungunya...." at least we'll try.:) With God's help.

 I want to say a big thank you to all you who prayed. We truly felt them and were so grateful for them. Where would we be without the body of Christ?